Reconstruction of Nonunion Tibial Fractures in War-Wounded Iraqi Civilians, 2006-2008: Better Late Than Never

OBJECTIV

Generation of a core set of items to develop classification criteria for Scleroderma renal crisis using consensus methodology

BACKGROUND This project was undertaken to generate a core set of items to develop classification criteria for scleroderma renal crisis (SRC) using consensus methodology. METHODS An international, multidisciplinary panel of experts was invited to participate in a 3-round Delphi exercise developed using a survey based on items identified by a scoping review. In Round 1, participants were asked to identify omissions and clarify ambiguities regarding the items in the survey. In Round 2, participants were asked to rate the validity and feasibility of the items using Likert-type scales ranging from 1-9 (1= very invalid/unfeasible, 5 = uncertain, 9 = very valid/feasible). In Round 3, participants reviewed the results and comments of Round 2, and were asked to provide final ratings. Items rated as highly valid and feasible (both median scores ≥7) in Round 3 were selected as the provisional core set of items. A consensus meeting using nominal group technique (NGT) followed to further reduce the core set of items. RESULTS Ninety-nine experts from 16 countries participated in the Delphi exercise. Of the 31 items in the survey, consensus was achieved on 13, including hypertension, renal insufficiency, proteinuria and hemolysis. Eleven experts took part in the NGT discussion, where consensus was achieved in 5 domains: blood pressure, acute kidney injury, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, target organ dysfunction, and renal histopathology. CONCLUSIONS A core set of items that characterize SRC was identified using consensus methodology. This core set will be used in future data-driven phases of this project to develop classification criteria for SRC. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Prophets and Priests of the Nation: Naguib Mahfouz’s Karnak Café and the 1967 Crisis in Egypt

Similarities between religion and nationalism are well known but not well understood. They can be explained by drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's sociological theory in order to consider symbolic interests and the strategies employed to advance them. In both religion and nationalism, the “strategy of the prophets” relies on charisma while the “strategy of the priests” relies on cultural capital. In 20th-century Egypt, nationalism permitted intellectuals whose cultural capital was mainly secular, such as Naguib Mahfouz, to become “priests of the nation” in order to compete with the ʿulamaʾ for prestige and influence. However, it severely limited their autonomy, particularly after Nasser took power and became a successful nationalist prophet. Mahfouz's novel Al-Karnak, which explores the fate of the Nasser regime's political prisoners and the effects of Egypt's 1967 military defeat, reflects this limitation. Under a nationalist regime, the film adaptation of the novel contributed to Mahfouz's heteronomy

A disciplinary commons for database teaching

This paper discusses the experience of taking part in a disciplinary commons devoted to the teaching of database systems. It will discuss the structure of a disciplinary commons and our experience of the database version

Effects of Text-messaging on the Academic Writing of Arab EFL Students

This paper investigates the effect of text-messaging on Arab EFL learners’ English academic writing. It also investigates teachers’ attitudes and reactions to the presence of e-texting features in their students’ writing. Qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis were employed on data obtained from the following sources: (1) a sample of freshman students’ writing, (2) a survey investigating students’ use of e-chatting in Arabic and English, and (3) a questionnaire eliciting teachers’ reactions to students’ use of texting features in academic writing. The data were collected from a student sample of the Arab Open University (AOU). The research findings show that Arab EFL students’ writing does not reveal a heavy use of texting features, which suggests that this phenomenon neither poses a serious threat nor adversely impacts students’ written English

Long-term outcome after a treosulfan-based conditioning regimen for patients with acute myeloid leukemia: A report from the Acute Leukemia Working Party of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation

BACKGROUND: Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a curative therapy for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, post-HCT relapse and regimen-related toxicity remain significant barriers to long-term survival. In recent years, new conditioning regimens have been explored to improve transplantation outcomes in patients with AML. Treosulfan combines a potent immunosuppressive and antileukemic effect with a low toxicity profile. METHODS: To investigate the role of treosulfan-based conditioning, the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Acute Leukemia Working Party performed a registry analysis of 520 adult patients with AML who received treosulfan-based conditioning and underwent HCT between 2000 and 2012, including 225 patients in first complete remission, 107 in second or later complete remission, and 188 with active/advanced disease 188 (88 with primary refractory disease). The median patient age was 57 years (range, 20-73 years). Donors were human leukocyte antigen-identical siblings (n = 187), unrelated donors (n = 235), or mismatched related donors (n = 98). Conditioning regimens included treosulfan (42 g/m2 [n = 396], 36 g/m2 [n = 109], or 30 g/ m2 [n = 15]) with fludarabine or alkylating agents followed by infusion of hematopoietic stem cells (bone marrow, n = 52; peripheral blood, n = 468). RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 61 months, the 5-year overall survival, leukemia-free survival, relapse incidence, and nonrelapse mortality rates were 38%, 33%, 42%, and 25%, respectively. The incidence of grade II-IV acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease was 24% (grade III-V, 11%) and 38%, respectively. Only 11 patients (2%) developed veno-occlusive disease, with two deaths (0.4%) from veno-occlusive disease. CONCLUSIONS: Treosulfan-based conditioning regimens provide an acceptable long-term survival with favorable nonrelapse mortality and a very low risk of veno-occlusive disease. Further studies are needed to optimize the treosulfan-based conditioning regimen for patients with AML

Changing Focus: Exploring Images of Women and Empowerment in Egypt

In moving away from prescriptive one?way communications exercises, participatory development communications use better strategies to engage communities and capture nuance. This article examines a communications case study in Egypt: a photography competition aimed at understanding how local photographers depict women and empowerment in their images. Opportunities for discussion and self?reflection provide cultural producers the space to delve into how they see women and how they then choose to represent them. This type of communications initiative actively courts a richer understanding of empowerment, leaving room for the complexities this might entail

Familial Linkage between Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Intellectual Interests

From personality to neuropsychiatric disorders, individual differences in brain function are known to have a strong heritable component. Here we report that between close relatives, a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders covary strongly with intellectual interests. We surveyed an entire class of high-functioning young adults at an elite university for prospective major, familial incidence of neuropsychiatric disorders, and demographic and attitudinal questions. Students aspiring to technical majors (science/mathematics/engineering) were more likely than other students to report a sibling with an autism spectrum disorder (p = 0.037). Conversely, students interested in the humanities were more likely to report a family member with major depressive disorder (p = 8.8×10−4), bipolar disorder (p = 0.027), or substance abuse problems (p = 1.9×10−6). A combined PREdisposition for Subject MattEr (PRESUME) score based on these disorders was strongly predictive of subject matter interests (p = 9.6×10−8). Our results suggest that shared genetic (and perhaps environmental) factors may both predispose for heritable neuropsychiatric disorders and influence the development of intellectual interests